Passing Gods
by CourtyardGarden
Summary: In the small town of Nansekicho by the lake Geki in Nagano, Japan, researcher Dr. Duo Maxwell makes a discovery that could change his life forever... AU, drama, angst, supernatural, male pairings, OOCness
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related Gundam Wing. Only the original characters in this story are my own.

Warnings: angst, supernatural, male pairings, some OOCness

Pairings: you'll see! :-P

A/N: Okay, somebody pointed out that my other story might lack a certain something so far, which is surprise. It was intended, but I still felt bad about it. So this time I won't say ANYTHING and the story will simply unfold before you. And me, since I'm writing it. ;-)

Oh, and I suggest reading my fics while listening to the songs I was listening to while writing it. It brings the right vibes straight to your home. :-D

For the whole fic I recommend Coldplay's 'Ghost Story' - the song, not the album! - '  
Up&Up' and 'Everglow' - the live-versions! The latter especially first especially for this fic!

Passing Gods

Chapter 1

For the umpteenth time that day Dr. Duo Maxwell nearly jumped again, as the car's doors opened automatically. All taxis seemed to do that around there. And after pathetically trying to tip three drivers in a row, he decided that there must be some kind conspiracy against him. Maybe it was the hair? The old boots? He couldn't imagine that people didn't take tips just because. What reason could they have? It was strange.

He got out of the car and went to fetch his luggage from the trunk. The driver got all his bags out, bowed and waved him goodbye.

Duo walked up the short road to his new accommodation. The house must have been way over hundred years old, but was generally in good shape. The tiled roof was dark grey and the structure of the house reminded him of half-timbered houses in Europe.

The agency had booked a room for him to stay for ninety days. Ninety! Research, baby! The room was free of charge, since the whole thing was an exchange programm. He wouldn't have been able to afford it otherwise. Japanese style hotels could be quite costly. His current accommodation offered rooms from hundred-fifty dollars per night. Duo's room was around two-hundred. He got dizzy, when ever he multiplied that by ninety. Even by ten it seemed too much.

It was a twin room, as he was going to share it with his colleague. Apparently, two rooms were out of question. International exchange only went that far.

Research was an expensive thing. And most of the time researchers tended to be one step away from bankruptcy. So state-funding was a very lucky thing. As part of the exchange programm, the funding was even better. Only funding provided by large companies could top that. But looking for natural recourses was not on his list of interests. And the locals wouldn't be thrilled either. The place was world heritage after all. Even if not officially yet.

Their had been very clear instructions send to his department about the do's and don't's at the research site. Actions would be supervised and equipment was prohibited to be brought anywhere near the sacred areas outside the lake. The latter was to be studied only by giving notice to certain individuals from the village. That included the staff at the ryokan, the priests of the two shrines and the chief.

The sky was of a grayish white and the snow was getting stronger when Duo stepped up the stairs to the sliding door. Hanging above it, there was what looked like a short indigo curtain with a long rip and a white circle at the center. He remembered seeing one at his friend's place. Interesting. Duo pushed it to the side, opened the door and went inside. Warm air hit his face and made it tingle. He sat down his luggage in one messy heap and scratched his nose.

Luckily, all equipment would be brought by express delivery. Not that he minded the extra weight. But the prospect of breaking expensive tools was not very funny.

The reception counter was empty, but there was a little bell on top. Duo took off his coat and was about to step on what looked like a porch-after-the-porch, when he saw a shelf with numerous pairs of moss-green slippers. Regular shoes were put instead in some places. He remembered hearing about the Japanese taking off there shoes when entering somebody's home. He had done it at his friend's place numerous times. But he didn't know it applied to public places as well. Not to say hotels.

Not to upset anyone right on his arrival, Duo took off his boots and fetched a pair of slippers. Better safe, then sorry.

He was about to ring the bell, when a head appeared through another of those curtains and a female voice said, "Irasshaimase!" The woman saw him and quickly came out. She was rather short and slender and wore a strange-looking jacket that seemed to be two sizes too large. She bowed to Duo and greeted him with a friendly, "Kombanwa, douchira-sama deshou ka?"

"Uhm, my name is Duo Maxwell. I've booked a room here," came his stammered reply. He wasn't sure if this woman had actually understood him. But he definitely hadn't understood her.

"Shoushou omachi kudasai, ne," the woman replied and went behind the counter to check a document for a brief moment. She looked at him again with a smile and stated, "Makusuweru-sama... desuyo, ne."

He just heard something that sounded close to his and nodded hopefully. The woman made a thoughtful face.

"Japanese... understand?" she finally asked.

Duo didn't know whether to be embarrassed or relieved that he had been caught. He shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, no."

Obviously, there were still places in the world, where people didn't speak English. He knew, it was a childish thought. But it still surprised Duo, whenever he encountered it.

"Wakaranai ka," the woman said more to herself and nodded understandingly. After couple of seconds in thought she exclaimed happily, "Wakatta! Sou shiyou!" She turned to the hall and left him saying, "Okyaku-san, chotto matte, ne. Ano, wait!"

Duo did as he had been told and waited patiently. He didn't exactly have plans. Or choices.

A few minutes later the woman returned with a blond, blue-eyed mob that looked about as confused as Duo felt. When the mob, or man, saw Duo, he seemed to understand and laughed. Duo didn't particularly liked being laughed at and made a face. The other seemed to notice that rather quickly and waved both hands in a placatory manner.

The man, that had to be around Duo's age, introduced himself as Quatre Winner. He explained that Mrs. Yanagida, who called him something like 'Q-chan', had asked him to show Duo around, since he knew the place quite well.

"Nice to meet you, too. And thank you for your help. I'm Duo Maxwell. Just call me Duo."

They shook hands and walked down the hall to Duo's luggage. After saying something to Mrs. Yanagida, who, in fact, was the owner of the place, this Quatre-person helped him with his bags. Nice guy, he thought.

They went upstairs and dumped everything in front of what had to be Duo's room and the tour began. Quatre showed him the restrooms on the same floor and informed him about the shoe-rule there - no hall slippers, restroom slippers only. Then they went downstairs again and to a large room with several low tables and a pile of cushions in a corner. He was told that he could eat meals there or in his room.

After the long trip, the jetlag and the general craziness of being in a different country, Duo's brain wasn't fully online. He tried to follow Quatre's explanations on this and that, but most of it didn't really reach him. Just as Quatre was explaining the rules of how to take bath, they passed the doors to the hot spring. Duo felt like he had just woken up from a vivid daydream, but realized he had indeed been walking around.

He tried to stifle a yawn several times, but in the end his needs were stronger and he failed miserably. Quatre seemed to understand and just laughed again. Duo noted it as a trait that was as much a part of the man as his mob of hair. He didn't mind that trait, though. It was quite comfortable to be around Quatre. Duo wondered if he was gay. It was hard to tell. But Duo wasn't particularly good at reading people that way if it wasn't painfully obvious. The guy could be married and have ten kids for all he knew.

They kept walking around and met a young girl that entirely ignored both Quatre's and Duo's presence. Quatre greeted her anyway. Duo wasn't sure, but it sounded like her name. Rei maybe? She was folding towels. Staff, Duo thought. Quatre seemed to know both the place and the people quite well. It was none of Duo's business, though, so he didn't ask him about it. He didn't want to get too close to the locals. Too much hassle.

The tour was over and Quatre wished him a nice first afternoon. Duo reciprocated his wishes and went to his room to set up shop. He had work to do after all. And there were a few things that needed to be done before he could crash. Like calling his colleague and his uncle to inform them of his arrival.

For calls in Japan he had bought a prepaid SIM card at the airport and placed it in his smartphone. But to avoid the biggest phone bill in history, for international calls, he wanted to use Skype only. He had heard of special cards for internet use. At least that much research he had bothered to do before his trip. But those were only sold at large electronics stores in the city. Miles and miles away.

Great. He dry-washed his face. His friends and family simply had to survive without any signs of life for a little longer. He hated upsetting people he loved or cared for. Even if it was an issue as harmless as calling late.

After pushing his stuff into a corner by the door, he gave his room a narrow inspection. It was larger than he had expected. There was no wardrobe, no bed or other typical furniture. Only a low wooden table like he had seen them in the dining room. But different from those, this one also came with a table cloth, that looked suspiciously like a blanket. There were several sliding doors along the wall, and he assumed those to be wall closets. He opened one, found it empty and stowed most of his luggage away.

After many hours in planes, trains and taxis, Duo finally decided to give his poor bladder and kidneys a break and went to the restroom. He had a strong habit of ignoring the abused organs. But he had to be more careful - getting a kidney inflammation overseas wasn't going to be funny.

When he stood in front of the door, he did as told, changed obediently into a pair of light blue slippers and then entered.

The toilet came with what looked like ground controls for a spacecraft. And everything was written in japanese. EVERYTHING. He tried a button that had a little fountain printed on it. Unfortunately, instead of the flush, he got an unexpected shower of his buttocks. Duo's sitting-jump would have made any yoga teacher jealous. Even as he nearly fell off the toilet in the process.

He suffered through ten desperate minutes, until he finally found 'flush' written on a small silver handle. It was at least a foot away from the crazy buttons from hell. Duo sighed in embarrassed relief. He hadn't been scared of the toilet since his first day out of ICU. Having had the catheter taken out. After the accident... He shuddered and then left quickly, nearly forgetting his slippers.

During his encounter of the Babylonian kind, a pile of towels and a Japanese-style futon had been brought to his room and set up next to the larger of the room's two windows. The duvet looked awfully inviting. But Duo wondered if the straw mats underneath weren't too hard to sleep on for an entire night. Not to say weeks. He was no coddle, definitely not. But the scars on his back had their own ideas of comfort. He simply had to give it a try. Maybe there was an additional mattress available.

Duo went to fetch his laptop and and his phone set it on the low table. He lifted the... blanket - definitely a blanket - and put his tired legs underneath.

And promptly took them out again! The table was hot!

He lifted the blanket further and made out a small heating element. He had never heard of heated tables before, but the concept was interesting. There was a cable that came from the heat element and went to the wall to his left. On it, about halfway, was a small black device. Apparently, for heat control. It didn't need a language expert to decipher that.

But despite the caveman-proof usage, he felt a little anxious to touch any more buttons for the rest of the day. Or his entire stay. But the heat seemed a little to high to be healthy. And he really wanted to try this... what ever its name was. So when he had managed to somewhat adjust the temperature he carefully put his legs back underneath and soon felt very comfortable. He could imagine the table in his living room back in Seattle. Very much.

The room was getting a little chilly and he lay on his back to slide a little further underneath. He propped his head on his left arm and looked at the ceiling. Light brown wood and a paper lantern. Not very interesting.

It was barely after two p.m., but Duo felt completely spent. He didn't like traveling all that much and avoided long trips when ever he could. Which wasn't often anymore, since he had built up quite a reputation and was high in demand.

He sighed and turned his head to look out the window. There wasn't much to see from his position on the floor. Not the lake, anyways. But he could see the grey sky and the snow-covered branches of a tree. Half the window was hidden behind one of those typical paper doors. The whole arrangement looked like a postcard.

It suddenly sank in that he had made it as far away as Japan this time. Wow. He was proud. But somehow he was scared, too. He would have to be a real professional from now on. No more comfort zone. Duh.

Seattle had been his safe haven since graduating from Caltech. He had a PhD and all, but he had been trying to keep the ball low. Until he entered the international research programm - his best friend and fellow researcher's idea, of course. He had crazy ideas, too, but not that crazy. He smirked. If this went down the drain he always had somebody else to blame.

Outside a crow landed on one of the tree's branches and chunks of snow fell to the ground. Duo tried to make out the bird's beak.

He had a thing for crows. They were like the badass faction in the birds' world. Clever, intelligent and ruthless. Perfect bankers, Duo thought with a grin. Or faculty directors. He buried his face in the crook of his arm and stifled a groan. Une. That woman could scare the shit out of a whole army of pimps and pushers. Without so much as chipping her red nail polish. Rumor had it that she used to be part of some special force in the army before she succeed her famous father's profession. And his position, too.

The crow hopped from here to there. Another one joined. They hopped together for a while. Finally the branch was completely snow-free. The dance continued until one of them flew off and landed by the window. Its black eyes finding Duo's. Suddenly its beak hit the glass with a loud crack and it broke into shards and pieces...

"Stop!"

Duo woke with a start. For a moment he didn't know where he was and what was holding him down. The room was nearly dark. A dream, he realized with relief. And a strange one.

He was sweating. And the evidence of that had just made a beeline from his forehead to his temple and finally down to his throat. With some effort he came up from under the table and stretched his aching back. Duo checked his old wristwatch and tried to make out the hands - about five thirty. He had slept for over three hours! Unfortunately, he felt worse than before.

He needed a shower. No, a bath! And soon! He thanked what ever gods were responsible for that particular quirk in the Japanese culture and got up to fetch fresh clothes. He grabbed the pile of towels and saw, that there was a kimono-like piece of clothing, too. It was a white and blue robe with an overly long grey belt. He put everything under his right arm and left.

The dressing room was kind of small. There was a bench in the middle and along the wall some shelves with little baskets. All were empty.

Duo tried to remember what Quatre had told him just hours before, but he hesitated about the completely-naked-part. Had he really heard right?

Walking out nude, when everybody else was at least lightly dressed, was a situation he would gladly avoid. If possible, at least. But he needed a shower. Bad.

So he took off his clothes, put them in one of the empty baskets and opened the door...

Nobody.

He sighed to himself. Where was confidence when you needed it the most? He was doomed.

On two walls of the mostly tiled room were six sets of shower fittings, including a mixing faucet, hose and head. Under each set was a plastic stool, two plastic bowls and a plastic hand mirror, all of the same color - light yellow. There was also a set of soap, shampoo and conditioner. It was written on it. In English! For hopeless dummies like him, he was sure.

Next to the soap was a washing cloth that looked a little too rough to be used on skin. More like a piece of sandpaper.

Duo sat down on a stool and started the water. He washed his body first. After trying the suspicious cloth a few times, he noted that it was sandpaper after all. The next task was his hair.

When his leonine mane had enough conditioner in to tame it, Duo began to apply shaving foam to his face.

Footsteps could be heard from behind the door to the dressing room. Two people were chatting and laughing. Suddenly the door opened and Duo froze. He was sitting there with his back bare and his hair undone. Two things he didn't like to show people on the first meeting. But he couldn't tell the place to shut down the facility just for his whims.

He didn't turn to look at who ever had just entered. But he could see their impressive... substructures in his mirror. Duo's face turned an interesting color and he quickly turned the mirror to a different angle.

"Oh, hey Duo!" Quatre exclaimed, sounding happy.

That changed Duo's resolve a little and he turned, face still mostly hidden behind both foam and his sticky long hair. He hoped his burning cheeks wouldn't give him away and melt off the foam. He was sure, his face was about the produce steam any moment.

Standing by the door was Quatre and next to him was a taller man who seemed to wear Duo's hiding tactics as his general fashion. Short hair fell over half of his face, obscuring one of his piercing eyes. He smiled back at Duo, but didn't say anything.

As if on cue Quatre said, "I'm sorry, this is my fiancé, Trowa Barton. Is this, well, okay for you?" Quatre clearly ment the pink elephant in the room - the gay issue.

"No problem. I'm bi, so I'm not really in the position to judge just about any sexual preference." Duo gave them a friendly wink at his last words and smiled knowingly.

The couple sighed in sync. Duo grinned at them.

When the two joined Duo by the wall, nobody had mentioned his scars or his hair yet. That gave him time to think of an answer.

Duo's washing routine could take quite some time. But the others had entered, when he was nearly finished. And since he didn't want to be the first to go, he waited until his companions, too, had finished their procedures. Then they all got up and Quatre and Trowa led the way.

The hot spring was located outside, right behind the ryokan. When Quatre opened the door, air cold as ice hit his body and he made a shrieking noise. Trowa chuckled, but shivered in agreement. It was freaking cold and there was snow all around them. It was completely dark now, but there were several small spotlights embedded in the ground all around and in the pool. The picture it created made Duo think of pond fairies and Excalibur and - god forbid - rave parties. But he was an adult now - no fairytales or funny pills.

Quatre was the first to slowly step into the steaming water. He groaned in pleasure as he was relieved from the aching cold. Duo and Trowa were next. Duo didn't really think much about the steam or Quatre's slight hesitation, when he simply went into to the pool in one clean slide.

The next moment he jumped out of the water with a yell and landed ungracefully on the pool's edge.

"Shit! What is this?! Boiling guests alive?" Duo put his hair back into his usual after-shower-bun. The sudden movement had half of it made come loose. A few strands protested and framed his face. It gave him a wild look.

Quatre and Trowa stared at him in shock. Then Quatre burst out laughing, but quickly apologized for it. He wiped a tear from his face as his laughter died down completely. He reminded Duo of the high temperatures of the water and instructed him how to get in properly. Duo tried again, this time with caution and slowly went in. First up to the waist and then inch by inch down until he reached the ground with his butt.

It was strange at first, but after a few minutes he felt the heat ease out his stiff muscles. He lay his head back to let it work on his shoulders. He sighed contentedly.

"Never been to a hot spring before? Fantastic, isn't it? I decided years ago that I can't live a single winter without this." Quatre's voice was low and quiet. Duo looked up and saw that his eyes were closed. There was the hint of a smile on his lips.

Duo chuckled. "You mean like all winter? I guess, you must have a very nice job, if it pays for that." More like loaded, Duo thought.

He closed his eyes, too. His thoughts drifted to the weeks before his departure, the trip to his parents' grave. Just the other day he had found their favorite tea at a large new supermarket in Seattle. The brand was a little difficult to get and expensive, too, but he had had to buy it. He had nearly wept there an then.

Something rang in the back of his head. Winner. Winner Fine Teas. Duo suddenly sat up, startling the other two men. He didn't really think it through, but he had to ask, anyways.

"Would you... I mean, would you possibly have any relations to WFT? The tea company?" Duo's face got warm again. He felt embarrassed for even asking such a question. He didn't want to invade anybody's privacy. Winner or not. It was just a name. This guy could be some 'lowly' whatever, for all he knew. All his excitement had left him in that single sentence and he apologized, "I'm sorry, just forget I ever asked that."

"No, no, that's fine. Actually, you're right. I am related to the company. And Trowa here," he pointed at his husband, "is not only my husband, but my bodyguard, too. Not that I really need one, though."

Trowa rolled his eyes at that. It seemed to be a rather sensitive topic.

Duo was stunned for a moment. This was like taking bath with the governor or something. He straightened himself and felt rather uncomfortable. Being naked and all. Who knew what connections this guy had. But then again, what should the guy say? That he was naked in a nude-only pool and with men in a men-only pool? He didn't care about people talking about his damaged skin. Just showing it was uncomfortable.

"Why do you ask?" Quatre inquired with growing curiosity. He was watching Duo, as was Trowa. The latter had to be assessing possible danger coming from him. His back was kind of too straight to be relaxing.

Now Duo had to reveal a little part of himself, too, just to be fair. He left it a little vague, when he said, "Well, my parents were crazy about some of your products. They used to claim, that there was no better Darjeeling than Winner's. They loved it."

Quatre made a strange face and stared at the water in front of him. Then he lay a hand upon his chest and said, "I'm sorry, I... seem to remind you of something... unpleasant." He grimaced at the last word.

Duo couldn't understand, what had made this person so upset so suddenly. He had hinted his parents passing just by speaking in the past. But he had never expected such an outburst of... what, empathy? He didn't even know the guy and vice versa. He could be suffering from an anxiety attack or whatever.

Trowa softly touched Quatre's arm. They looked at each other and Quatre smiled at his husband and nodded. Trowa went a little closer until they sat shoulder to shoulder. It looked like a supportive gesture. And Quatre seemed to need support. His face was pale and he winced a few times. Maybe he was in pain?

"I'm sorry," he finally said, "I don't feel very well these days. Another reason for me to come to a remote place like this. I feel better here. But I don't wish to bother you with my ailments."

The words were formal, but they never sounded off when Quatre used them. A very special person, indeed, Duo told himself. He felt for him, even though they had just met. He, too, tried to stay away from people those days, but those two had him captivated.

"I'm not bothered at all. I just fear to be the cause of your...," Duo thought a second, looking for the right words and tried, "Temporary discomfort." He received a slight smile from Quatre. "I intended to hint that my parents have passed away already. Is that what caused you this?"

He felt like in a courtroom, talking to the persecutors. He didn't usually choose his words so carefully. In fact, in the past he used to be quite outgoing and a real big mouth. But those days were long gone.

"No, no, you didn't do any harm!" said Quatre and smiled a little brighter again. The man's face seemed to start glowing when ever he did that.

"May I ask you one question?" Trowa joined suddenly. "You don't have to answer, if you don't want to, of course." He waited for a sign from Duo to go on. He received a curt nod and went on saying, "I guess, you hear this nearly everyday, but would you tell me the length of your hair? Excuse me, if you find my questioning you rude or weird, but..." Trowa looked at him again and finally asked, "Exactly how long is your hair?"

There, it was said.

Quatre nudged his husband's arm and Trowa chuckled. A deep, soothing voice. Duo liked the sound of it. Just like he found Quatre's laughter to be very nice.

Duo made a face that looked suspiciously close to a goldfish. His mouth opened and closed, but no actual word came out. He had thought, he would be prepared for any question related to his hair or his body. But for some reason it didn't work, when it came from this man. Duo felt silly for it, but he felt attracted to the man. To both of them, for God's sake. Not that he would have acted upon it. The feeling was there, though. He couldn't deny it.

But he could still blame it on his lack of sleep. You couldn't really call three hours in two days restful.

Or blame it on the fact that those had been the first words Duo had ever heard from the man. Yes, who would skip the introduction and go straight to...

But back to the question, Duo reminded himself. He was so easily distracted these days. He untied his bun and showed the full length of his mane. "forty inches." He hesitated for a moment, but then decided to braided his hair. It felt more comfortable around strangers. More protected.

"Impressive!" Quatre exclaimed in awe. He looked back at Trowa and took his hand. "Please forgive us, but Trowa and I have something you could call a little hair fetish and yours is just impossible to ignore."

He squeezed Trowa's hand and then turned to look at Duo again. Quatre studied his face for a moment. Duo hoped it didn't give away anything. He wasn't even looking at Trowa. But he felt caught, like Quatre had it figured out. But there was no anger or anything on his face. Just a knowing smile.

Were those two flirting with him?

He wasn't the most... receptive to that matter, though. In fact, he was trying to ignore advances completely nowadays. Well, if he could. Unfortunately, his body had noticed before him this time. No growing body parts, but it was enough to make him nervous.

Quatre's laughter broke the silence. "Never mind," he said as if reading his thoughts. "Gods, how I've missed this season. A hot spring is only ever really good in the winter. Some of my sisters come here quite often through out the year, though. The spring is of volcanic origin and it is said to be a fountain of youth."

Duo snorted. "I should know about it. I happen to be a geologist."

Enlightenment seemed to have struck Quatre, as his eyes went wide and he nearly shouted, "You are the guy that came to check about the lake! But weren't there supposed to be two?" He came back to himself in an instant and coughed, looking a little embarrassedand. "Sorry, it seems to be today's quirk to be thunder-struck," he said apologetically and while scratching his neck.

They all had to laugh then and the awkwardness lessened a bit. They talked some more about their backgrounds and about the research that was supposed to start by tomorrow, but had been postponed due to his colleague's delayed arrival.

"But somebody with your background... I'm sorry, I mean, this place isn't cheap, but it's not exactly luxurious." Duo had been wondering about it, since the beginning of the conversation.

"Oh that!" Quatre exclaimed with a laugh. "You mean beside the water? I happen to know the family of the priest of the main shrine personally.

"You'll meet some of them soon. Most likely the grandson first. He's a great guy, though."

Duo wasn't sure, whether the last sentence was a hint or not. He wasn't interested. Not at the moment, anyways. He didn't even know whom Quatre ment. He was just explaining about the place, not matchmaking, Duo told himself. The times were people got wed off to complete strangers were long gone. At least in his part of the world. And that was good! He wasn't planning on hanging out with the locals. The hassle, the heartache. No.

He was glad nobody was able to read thoughts. His thoughts. The last two days had sent him into a mental limbo, that didn't seem to have a finish line in sight.

"Actually," Quatre said, looking up at the black sky, "if you're interested, we could give you a little tour tomorrow. We've known some of the people here for quite a long time and we could go introduce you." Quatre stretched an pulled up his knees.

"I guess," he grinned sheepishly, "my little outburst earlier told you, that you've already become part of the local gossip. Everybody is talking about the strangers coming to town, but not everybody is very happy about it.

"Now that I've met you in person, or at least one of you, I'm sure you won't do any of the things they're scared of. If you need any help while you're staying here, feel free to ask us."

Duo was flabbergasted. What exactly was everybody so scared of? Even if they wanted to do something off the records, they wouldn't be able to get their equipment without permission. And supervision. All eyes would be on them the moment the left the house.

And had he just made Quatre trust him enough, to offer friendship? Either Quatre was terribly naive or he knew exactly what he was doing. But he didn't seem to be the careless type. Every word he spoke was carefully chosen.

It took Duo a moment, but then he realized his cue. He held out his hand, thanked Quatre and accepted the offer. But he had his doubts. Maybe Quatre was trying to keep an eye on him to protect his little refuge from intruders. Duo wouldn't mind him, though. His privacy was something he would try to protect by all available means.

Quatre took his hand firmly, without hesitation. As if trying to proof his offer genuine. Then they all headed back inside.

In the dressing room, Duo realized that he had brought not only towels, but the robe from earlier, too. He tried it on, but couldn't get the hang of it. The belt was too thick and too long to just wrap it around once and tie a knot. He was about to leave it and go for his clothes instead, when Trowa offered to help him. He was already wearing his robe, that he called a 'yukata'. Quatre joined and the couple bickered and bantered about who actually had the knack of it. Duo felt like a little, helpless boy. But he bore his tribulations bravely and quietly suffered through their... ministrations. After the - seemingly endless - period of ten minutes they were all dressed the same way. Quatre gave time and place to meet for the tour the following day and they said their good-nights.

Back in his room, Duo nearly had a heart attack. The door was wide open. His laptop, his phone! He hurried into the room and jumped at least a foot high into the air at the sight. There was a slender old woman with a grey bun and a dark blue kimono with an apron. Apparently, she was setting up dinner for him. Laptop and phone had been sat down beside the table. He released the breath he didn't know he had been holding and gasped for air.

The woman bowed, said something in Japanese, bowed again and left him to explore his food. And there was a lot to explore and discover. Some of the things looked almost to scary to even try them. It was either smelly, sticky, fishy or everything altogether.

He had eaten Japanese food before, but only sushi and ramen. He wasn't a gourmet. If he really had to, Duo could eat just about anything. But being a little nit-picking once in a while didn't hurt.

He drank some of the tea - searing hot! Ouch! - that was placed next the many dishes. It tasted like green tea, but somehow different. Of course, the water had a different hardness around there. It was very soft and... fresh. Yes, fresh was the right word. Not like purified water in the city. You didn't just know that the water there was recycled, you could almost taste it. Yuck!

There was a small black iron pot over a tiny black spirit stove. Vegetables and meat were stewing in dark, thick sauce. Of all the things on the table, it was the only thing that seemed safe to eat right away. The smell was simply delicious. And the taste, too, Duo thought and ate a little more.

He paused and studied his chopsticks. They were different from the simple ones he had back home - dark brown and with fine carvings all over. The rest they had been on had the shape of a flying bird. It was red with beak and legs painted in gold.

There was a bowl of soup, a bowl of rice and several tiny plates with with various colorful pickles. Edible, Duo decided. Quite tasty, actually.

Aside from the sushi, even the other very fishy looking fish didn't taste that bad. He couldn't bring himself to eat it up, though, as he had always been a closet-fish-bone-phobic. He might have been okay with one tiny little bone. But this! This was like... the complete skeleton still in there.

He felt a little adventurous there and then and tried one of the foods of the 'altogether-list'. And the only thing this one wasn't, was fishy. But besides that it even brought more points to the list - 'slimy', 'it threads' and 'utterly disgusting'. Attempts at removing it from his mouth had resulted in fine, sticky threads all over his face and hands. And they seemed to multiply by every move he made. The wet white cloth next to his plate wasn't much of a help, either. Eventually, he made a trip to the bathroom to try and end his misery somehow. Duo had to ask someone the name of the food. In order to be able to avoid ever having to see, smell or - no way in hell! - taste it again. But then he remembered - this had to be the infamous natto.

He lay back and crawled under the table. He seriously considered sleeping under the thing. As it was, temperatures would drop even further the next few nights. And the room wasn't particularly warm either. Duo hadn't seen any signs of central heating. There was only an air conditioner on the wall. How did they keep the house warm like this? Maybe the table solved all those problems over here. It was nice. But only until one had to get out and actually start doing things. Not really a sufficient solution. More like a way to make you a lazy bum, Duo concluded.

He got up to get the duvet and wrap it around his torso. Maybe he could get one of those large jackets the owner had been wearing when he had arrived. Wearing his down jacket in his room was kind of lame. He wondered if it was just a show for the tourists or if people really wore those things at home.

The last time he had checked the weather, they had been expecting the coldest week since records began. The peak would be the following night with -15°F. Wow. That was cold. Like really, really cold. He would have to wear mittens to keep his Raynaud in check. After all the stress it was very likely to flare up again.

Duo felt exhaustion crawl its way from his head straight to his limbs. But he fought the urge to sleep. Only kids and old people went to bed at nine p.m. And he still had work to do!

He tried to résumé the last two days, but could only come up with one word - weird. A weird place, weird people, one weird situation after the other, weird dreams and finally weird food. Duo had a feeling, there was more weirdness coming up. Maybe his whole life had taken a weird twist and was stumbling helplessly into the arms of fate. What a picture... She wouldn't catch him, though. He knew his luck.

Back in the dressing room, Trowa had told him about the free Wi-Fi at the ryokan and given him ID and password - the ryokan's name and four times zero. Not the best security, but he had to make do with it.

So, with a full belly and a proper connection, Duo was finally able to talk to his uncle and his colleague.

"About time you called, kid!"

The call to uncle Howie was surprisingly short. He was busy analyzing graphs from a recent minor earthquake in Florida. He promised Duo to spread word of his safe arrival and they waved their goodbyes.

Duo checked his emails. There was one with a red mark. Not a good sign. He read it. And read it again. And one more time, just to be sure...

Duo was glad that there was nothing ceramic in the room, since he suddenly had the urge to through something at the wall. And break it into a million pieces!

He would be alone in the middle of nowhere in Japan, without a translator, without the equipment, without his colleague!

He tried to calm down by telling himself that a nasty scene of breaking the whole place apart would not exactly speed things up. He took a few deep breaths surfed the internet to look for some distraction. Something to watch. It took quite a while, but in the end he found a documentary on YouTube about a guy who built his own mobile battle robot. It was quite fun to watch and it reminded him of one of those cartoons he used to watch as a kid. He couldn't come up with the name, though.

Suddenly the symbol for incoming calls appeared on the screen and the respective jingle rang through the room. A certain somebody must have seen his account being online. Duo would give him an earful. He clicked the green button with an angry punch on the touch pad and picked up.

"Chang, you bastard!"

Down by the lake, unseen by anyone, a natural phenomenon was preparing to come back after thirty years of absence.

TBC

A/N: So, what do you think? Btw, I don't know anything about geology. If you find any ridiculous mistakes, please tell me and I'll try to correct them, if possible.

R&R, please! 3


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry! I've been sooooo busy! And on top of it all, I had the ideas, but I was missing the right words. Like your plot's going riot in your head, but it's too fast to follow or make sentences...  
And sorry, if this is too short an update, but I thought you wouldn't want to wait for ages just to have a little more text. I'll try really hard form now on to upload more regularly!

Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm so happy!

And about earthquakes - I checked that in advance and they do have them, even if it's rare. And there's even an official emergency plan online.

A/N#2: The condition Duo is suffering from is called the Raynaud syndrom. Please use your trusted search engine for detailed info. I have Raynaud myself, so I can write based on my own experience.

A/N#3: I'm going to edit this later! Within the next two days. I just wanted to put it out there. Let's call it an early Christmas present! ;-)

Chapter 2

"It's not my fault! Dammit!" Wufei shot back, hissing the last line through gritted teeth. Their conversation was getting more and more heated after Duo had nearly been yelling at him non-stop for the last five minutes.

"Do you have any idea," he said, becoming louder with each syllable, "how much pressure I've been under, ever since it was clear that I wouldn't be there on time?!"

Duo didn't answer. He just sat there, tight-lipped, staring at the wall and brooding over his own misery. But he had to admit that Wufei was right. Une must have been kicking his ass to at least try and get the equipment ready. And as he - obviously - hadn't been able to do that, or anybody else for that matter, he must have gotten an earful from her. And a scary one, Duo was sure.

He sighed. "Okay, apparently, both of us are pretty much fucked right now, I admit that. But at least, you can pull some strings over there! I'm stuck with the locals like in some lame cannibals' flick! And it's a mute one, too, 'cause I can't even say 'ouch' in Japanese!"

"And how exactly is that my fault? How long have you known that we were going to Japan? Hm?! Three damn months! Don't you think that's quite enough time to study a little about the language and customs of a country?!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Duo shot back, "it was clear that you would be our translator! It's not like you've been very forthcoming with some tutoring anyways!"

Two steps forward, three steps back. Great! Not!

Duo knew, he was stepping on very, very thin ice. But he was lost in the moment and in his anger, so he simply kept ranting, "I'm not the one with a Japanese mom! But I didn't even know until last year that she was Japanese and that you can speak it. Despite being your friend for over twelve years!" He took a deep breath and continued, "twelve years during which you got to know any damn little insecurity of mine and whatsoever because I told you just about anything! And I have to find out about something so... so freaking big... by accident?!"

Wufei was quiet. He wanted to shout back, but he felt too guilty to do it. Yes, he had kept this secret from his best friend, his only friend. The friend who once even had been...

Wufei simply hadn't told him because he had been in denial ever since he got to know the truth all those years ago. It wasn't something he liked to think or - God forbid! - talk about. Not even to his mother. It would only have made her sad.

He spoke with her in her native tongue, because she had taught him to. He wasn't permitted to use it in front of members of his father's family. They wouldn't accept an upbringing different from the ways of the clan. And those excluded marriages with outsiders like his mom and exposure to other cultures. His mom lived the life of an outcast, staying in a large, but lonely apartment outside the clan's main estate. Wufei's father had tried many times to use his power to bring her to the main house. He was the next in line for the leader of the clan. But so far his efforts hadn't been very fruitful.

Duo had every right to be angry. And here he was, Chang Wufei, always talking big about justice and honour, and still keeping something else from Duo... Don't go there, he told himself, not now. If ever...

Duo saw the growing discomfort on his friends face and his own guilt made him groan. This was his best friend, for God's sake...

Duo could be very cruel, when he was irritated enough. Which in itself was rare. But whenever it happened, he held up people's insecurities and threw them in their faces. You are so gonna end up all alone one day, he scolded himself silently.

"God's, Fei, I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have brought this up now. Hell, I can be such an ass! You know me!" He dry-washed his face and looked back at the screen just in the right moment to watch his friend do the same. "We've both fucked up big time. Peace?" he asked, voice turned calm and quiet. Very quiet.

"Of course," came the equally calm reply.

Duo wasn't sure if his outburst would make things more awkward between them. So many things had happened recently and it felt as if they were slowly drifting apart. He didn't want to think about that, though. Not ever!

"So what's the plan for the next few days?" Duo was nearly anxious to know about his fate. And, coward or not, he simply wanted to change the subject.

"The meeting with the officials has been delayed until my arrival. Une herself talked to Nagano City yesterday." Wufei's voice was a little raspy.

"Eww! I bet they gladly took her... 'suggestions' like scared, obedient kids, just to be off the hook? Poor guys. Bet they'll have nightmares of long, red nails for a while." Duo shivered mockingly.

"But, well..." Duo thought what the situation would have been like for him. And shivered for real this time. Shit!

That got a laugh out of Wufei that quickly became contagious, until both of them were caught in a hysterical laughing fit. It lasted for at least two full minutes, and when it finally died down they both had wet cheeks.

Duo wiped his face in amazement. He hadn't had to laugh so hard for a long, long time. It felt good. Kind of refreshing.

He mock-glared at Wufei and said, "I could still kill you, though. I nearly got showered by the freaking Godzilla toilet seat!"

"Well, that's your punishment for pressing nasty, unknown buttons in the first place, Maxwell. You're doomed, you know. One of them was gonna kick back one day," came Wufei's analysis. Which earned him a middle finger.

They had to laugh again.

"Try not to ruin international relations 'till Monday," Wufei chuckled.

Duo snorted, "very funny, Dr. Chang. Greet the dear Dr. Po from me."

"So that she knows you have internet access and starts plotting with you again? Maybe I should tell her the locals had you for dinner?" Wufei mused with one raised eyebrow and a smug smile on his lips.

"Hey, don't keep my gossip-buddy away from me!" Duo whined histrionically.

"Duo," Wufei started, being sober again, "I'm sorry about the secrets and everything. I hope, you know that. And I can't help it, but... somehow you've changed in the last few days. I don't want to ruin the moment, but I haven't seen you really laugh in... like forever. It's... it's good to have that back."

"Whoa, man, enough soul-searching here." Duo squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. "See you on Monday, then. Take care!"

"You, too!" Wufei waved a hand.

"Is that Duo?!" came a loud shriek from somewhere behind Wufei and the screen went black.

"Asshole," Duo laughed aloud.

Wufei was right - he was different. He just didn't know why or how it had happened.

He lay back again and reached for the pillow on his futon. He put it under his head and closed his eyes.

As it was, he still needed a babysitter once in a while. He sighed. Change or not. Should have studied at least a little bit, he thought. But maybe subconsciously, he had been trying to hightail it, had mentally sabotaged the whole idea.

Well, didn't that suck?

He decided to call it a day and prepared to go to bed.

He turned and saw the dishes still on the table. It didn't look like anybody would come to pick them up. He shrugged and searched his bags for toothbrush and paste.

He opened the door and was about to step out, when he saw the old woman in front of him again, carrying a large tray. She bowed, said something he couldn't catch and went into his room. There, as if on cue, she swiftly picked up everything from the table and left with a slight bow, saying something that sounded like 'mushta' in the end. The way she had knelt down in that kimono - wow! Not the woman, the motion! It had looked very elegant. Duo was sure his kneecaps would have popped big time.

He realized, that he had been standing at the same spot the entire time. And not said anything. Not very polite. Something to work on.

Duo stepped out of the still open door and was about to go to the restrooms, when a thought came to his mind. Didn't a room of this price category usually have an adjacent bathroom? He went back in and checked again, but there was none. He wondered if Quatre and Trowa had one in their room. He was sure they had booked the best suite the place had. But maybe the house didn't allow modern adjustments the like? It didn't really bother him. The shared bathroom was new and clean. He went in, nearly forgot the slipper-thing again, and returned to his room in a close-to-sleep-daze, that had him stumble dangerously at least twice.

The bed seemed to purr his name and he more fell than lay down. He pulled the duvet up to his nose and was gone the moment he closed his eyes.

The next morning greeted Duo with bright sunlight that shone him right in the face.

He had slept like the dead. Usually, he couldn't stand any light in the room while sleeping and often woke up around daybreak. He looked at his watch - 8:30 a.m. That was... good! More than good, this was great! Ten hours! Non-stop! Usually he managed five. If he was lucky. Three or four hours were much more common. Followed by long hours lying awake, until he could finally fall asleep again.

"Awesome!" he whispered, as if to the sunshine, and smiled.

Just in that moment there was a knock on the door and it slit open with a small creak.

Breakfast was there. This time the owner herself brought things in and arranged them nicely on the table.

Duo moved closer to get a better look at things. Everything appeared to have a particular position. Very interesting. The rice and soup were placed the same way as the night before. There was some fish again, some fried tofu with vegetables, an egg and... natto.

Duo suddenly felt the need to say something. "That one," he pointed at the brown beans, "not good." He knew it wasn't very nice to say that. But he was determined to remove the gruesome material from his meal.

The owner laughed and said, "Yappari taberenai no? Oishikunai? Nan da-kke? Ano, karada ni ii mono. Herushii yo! He... heal... sy?"(1)

Duo smiled and shrugged, "Not for me." That earned him more laughter.

"Try eggu?" she asked Duo, who was sitting next to her now.

He took the egg into his hand. Oddly, it was cold. He was about to break the shell when the owner stopped him, "Ah! Matte! Nama na no yo! Nama tamago! Nama, eigo de nan da-kke? Ano, eggu very softo. Very softo!"(2)

"Uhm, okay?" Duo just stared at her. Was the woman implying that the egg was... raw?!

"Hora, tabekata o misete agemasho."(3) And with that she cracked it open and poured the - in fact raw - egg over Duo's steaming bowl of rice. She mixed it, added some soy sauce and gave it to him.

Duo didn't know what to do. He was sure to get salmonella or any other awful disease at the first bite. But he had the very responsible task of keeping the locals pleased and happy with his being around.

He took the still very warm bowl and reluctantly put a little on his chopsticks. Then he directed them to his mouth... and ate it.

The world stood still for a moment. But opposed to all his fears, he didn't die instantly, nor did he turn into some green mush.

It was good. Tasty even. He wasn't sure whether to tell anyone back home, though. They would think, he had finally become completely insane.

"It's good!" Duo beamed at her.

Mrs. Yanagida smiled and nodded, "desho? Yokatta!"(4) Then she left with a bow and some supposedly standard polite phrase.

Duo felt like he had just passed a test to join one of those weird clubs at university. He was now a proud member of the Nansekicho-Raw-Egg-Eaters. If that group didn't exist yet, he would definitely found it! Raw egg. Wow!

He wondered if Wufei ever ate like that back home. Or if he had ever eaten it. His friend never talked about his mom, even after Duo had confronted him about it. In fact, Duo had never even met her. Just Wufei's father and his, well, 'goons' at the family's martial arts school. The topic rarely came up and Wufei's mood tended to turn sour when ever she was mentioned. Duo had imagined some sort nasty divorce scenario and hadn't wanted to prod too much.

But finding out that his best - and only - friend had kept a secret that big from him, had been quite a shock.

Duo and Wufei had first met back in high school. A few weeks before graduation. And their first encounter had been rather unusual...

Somebody had been repeatedly destroying the flyers for a fundraising event for victims of strong quake in China. After hearing about Duo being the school's biggest troublemaker, Wufei - who had just recently transferred there - had accused him of being the culprit. But after finding his accusations false - and a nasty fistfight with a cheering audience - they had become friends. Wufei had apologized for his - quote - injustice. A word that had had Duo first stunned and then nearly toppling over backwards from laughing. He smiled at the thought. Even revealing Duo's sexual orientation had never tinted their friendship. Things had been easier in the past.

He sighed. So many things had changed since then.

Duo finished his breakfast and his morning routine. After checking his emails and Skype-messages, he still had about an hour until Quatre and Trowa would guide him through town.

He got up and went over to the large window and tried to really appreciate the view for the first time since his arrival.

It was beautiful. The hills were covered in snow and the sky was an amazing dance between cyan and Prussian blue. In the garden below the window there were stone lanterns and trees that looked like giant bonsais. All trimmed and shaped with lots of care. And everything under a thick layer of snow.

The view of the lake was just as stunning. The way it reflected the sky, mixing in its very own colors. Awesome.

Standing there, watching the peaceful scenery, Duo realized just how much he hated city life. Noisy, smelly and too crowded. Seattle wasn't New York, but it was enough city to bother him. But life in the country meant a lot more time out in the cold. Not necessarily the best environment for his hands. He sighed. A hopeless case. It was either too much or not enough.

Duo took a good look at his fingertips. The left hand was relatively okay, but the right pinky was darker then the rest and a bit swollen. Shit, not good, not good at all. If he wasn't careful enough, one day Raynaud and his evil accomplice frostbite would bring him down. He was doomed...

There was a light knock at the door, and after a short shout of acknowledgement, Trowa's head peaked in. He wanted to know, if Duo still wanted to go out with them. Duo grabbed his wallet and his coat and followed Trowa to the small lobby, where Quatre was waiting for them.

TBC

Japanese sentences:

The owner generally addresses Duo in a very casual way. Not the way a regular Japanese customer would be treated. She treats Duo like her child. That implies her feeling responsible for Duo and taking him under her motherly wing.

(1) "So you really can't eat it? Doesn't taste good? What was it again? Uhm, it's good for your body. It's healthy! Healthy!"

(2) "Ah! Wait! It's raw! Raw egg! What's raw in English again? Well, the egg is very soft! Very soft!"

(3) "Here, let me show you how to eat it."

(4) "Right? I'm glad [you like it]." 


End file.
